Straw hat.



- To'aZZ whom t may concern.'

ST'llESA.`

einen,

SAMUEL HLnLUi/f, or NEW YomQN.- VY.; JaconvANnnALrn AND MrLToN DAMMANN,

Born or New YORK, N. Y.,'ExncUrons or. sain BLUM, nncnasnn, AssIGNonsTo BLUM a Koen, INC.; or NEW Yoan, N. Y., y.a conroNArIoN or NEW YORK.

s'rnAw HAT.

Beit known that 1,' SAMUEL I-I. BLUM, a citizen -of theL United States, residing at New York, 'in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements. 'in Straw 'Hatsg and I do herebyud'eclareI the following to 'bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchgas will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to straw hats andY has for its principal object the'rendering of themain portions of a'hat structure 'iexible for enabling conformity tothe contour of the head of the wearer,

and providing partsrigid to .`ins ure mai n Vtenance of shape and tofacilitate handhng.

With this and further objects in view, as

will` part hereinafter become apparent and in part be stated, the invention com--l prisesthe combinationof'flexible portions and rigid portions in a hat structure, each `being arrangedrelative to the other for insuring comfort to thewearer.

. The invention further comprises certainl other noVe'l constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as vwill hereinafter be specied and claimed.

' In the accompanying'drawing: Figure l' isa plan view of a hat embodying the features of'the present invention.. Fig-.2 is a view in sideelevation thereof, parts-being broken away for disclosing the interior structure. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail frag'-,

Referring tothe drawing by numerals, 1 indicates the crown, and 2, the brim of a straw hat, the braid of which may be of any of the known. forms but instead" of being interfilled with glue -or other stiii'ening and supporting means, the Ventirev crown-and the major portion Vof the b rilnare formed of the braid stitched in the usual manner and otherwise exible and -unsup` ported, leaving both the crown" and the inner I major portionof the brim adapted to easily conform to thecontour of the head of the wearer, so as toeliminate theI rigidity and stiffness prsent inIv the ordinary straw hat and objectionable for a number of reasons Aas is well known, the-flexibility of the structure shown affording' the comfort and ease usually enjoyed when wearing a felt hat.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Ihefexibility of the sheet of straw comprising the entire body. of the hat-is perfect and so 'manifest that if. the periphery of the ,brim' were not sustained it would tend `to'dro'op, curveor otherwise get out Aof proper shape.` To avoidthisv -dificulty and still secure the full benet of all .of the ad-v vantages incident to the non-useof glue or other stifening v substance A*ordinarily employed' the interstices Vof the straw, v the outer or free edge portion of the'l brim .is

n'er boundary of the stifened portion being within ,the straw fof the brim '2, and 'the '65 s'ti'ened', b y an interhllin'g -ofglue or like supporting 'means ias indicated at 3, the iiil limited ,by a stiffeningwire 4, embedded outer .boundary off vthestiiened portion -be-f in gflikewisebounded by af similar stiffening wrre. Thel gage f the-'wires 4 and 5 has been exaggerated,-particularly-in'Fig. 3 for 'purposes of. disclosure, it'- being preferable in practice to employ a veryfinewire and v -each of the wires lLand being in the fo'rm ofafcomplete circlet or lopp. Thus, the

outer or edge portion ofthe brim2 about the entire brim ranging outwardly from the wire 4 to the extreme edge of the brim isv stiff and hard, and affords a place of pur chase for the grasp of 'the hand in applying the hat to the head and'removing the same therefrom. This stiened area also insures I against the remaining portion' of the brim' becoming unshapely.

What I claim is: strawhat comprising a crown of 'flexible' vfn'on-'stii'ened?straw, and a brimof similar straw' from the crown outward for. a portion ofthe width of the brim, the vbrim being stiened for the 'area from the flexible portion tothe outer edge of 'the brim, and

the vbrim being substantiallyiat and of-substantially uniformihickn'ess throughout.

'of the brim, lthebrim being 'stiiiened forthe area from the 'exible portion 4to the outer 2.' A 'straw 'hat'ucomprising `a crown'of yieXible non-stifen'ed straw andla substan-` and vthe-.stifened portions of thebri'm; the

wire bengsspaed inwardly from theffree edge of' the brim.

3. A straw hat comprising a `crown of flexible non-stifened straw and a substantially flat brim similarlyformed from the crown outward for a portion of the Width of the brim, the brim being s'tiifened for the areaJ from the iieXible portion to the outer edge of the brim, a. stiffening wire embedded in the straw of the brim and'bounding the line of juncture between the eXible and the stiiiened portions of the brim, and a wire embedded in the peripheral portion of the brim, and spaced outwardly of the brim from the first wire.

4. A straw hat comprising a, crown whose head-engaging edge portionsl ere susceptibley of distortion toconformv to the contour of the head, and a Hat brim having that portion engaging and Vimmediately surrounding said edges of the crown of flexible non-stiliened. straw, the area of the brim from the flexible l portions to the outer edge of the brim being stifened. v

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- SAMUEL kH. BLUM.

Witnesses: Louis LAsK,

A. L. RICHOLD.'L 

